Compromise
by tats magicalmcguffins
Summary: The CCG has been attempting to work with ghouls in an attempt to find a compromise that both species can live with. In return for surrendering some of their rights and recognizing the control of the CCG, non-aggressive ghouls are allowed to live a somewhat nice life in the ghoul reservation of the twenty fifth ward. Now the young Ken Kaneki has been entered into the ward. so enjoy
1. the twenty-fifth ward

**Well here is another attempt at my hunting dogs oneshot as a full series. I felt like reworking some things and dropping/adding some others.**

 **I don't know how good this is though. Since while I have been thinking of it for a while, it is a bit rushed from when I started actually writing it.**

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It was late at night when the people in one small neighborhood in the twentieth ward were woken up by lights and sirens. Curious neighbors came out to see what was going on. They soon discovered that one of the families in the second floor now being handcuffed and led down to the waiting cars. But what was particularly interesting about this arrest was the fact that a CCG capture unit was in charge of the arrest which could only mean that these people were ghouls. It was shocking to realize that ghouls had been hiding amongst them. Once friendly eyes soon turned to the three in fear, anger, disgust, curiosity, or a combination of them all; causing the youngest to shrink in on himself in an attempt to hide while the father took a protective position over his two loved ones.

The CCG had located this family a few days ago and decided that they were not an immediate threat. SO they watched them for a few weeks to access their temperament and capabilities. Eventually, due to their observations, it was decided to attempt a peaceful capture. And so faced with a full complement of police, armed CCG investigators, and couple "tamed" ghouls, the father ghoul surrendered while the other two, a human female and a young pup, were not a threat. Everything was wrapped up neatly within a couple of hours and the police who had helped now had a tale to tell their friends at the bar about taking down a pack of rogue ghouls; with a bit of embellishment.

And so this was how the young Ken now found himself detained in the back of a CCG van with his father. For the little boy, this was extremely traumatic. At first his family was enjoying a quiet night at home and then suddenly a bunch of scary men with weird smelling suitcases came in and took them all into custody. He did not know what was going to happen next. He thought back to the warnings his parents had given him about these men. That they had the ability to decide if he lived or died simply because of what he was. Now he was surrounded by these boogeymen that he used to hide under his blankets from.

He sniffled a little. Both due to fear and missing his now absent mother. Being human, she was taken away by the police instead. He could only cry in his father's arms as she was led away despite all his begging to the scary suitcase men not to take her from him. He was then led into the back of the van and forced to sit in the far end away from the door alongside his father. With the CCG officials and the ghouls who had come with them now between them and the exit.

In the van, he was given his collar. The black ring of metal felt weird and heavy around his neck. It also smelled weird to him. Not to mention his sensitive ears could pick the subtle sounds of the mechanisms inside the mechanical restraint device. He found himself multiple times tugging at it or trying to look at the strange green light on the end of it. He also kept looking at the handcuffs around his wrists made of quinque steal. He didn't understand why he was force to wear these things or what they were made of to be so hard to break out of. Trying to satiate his curiosity of these things on his wrists, Ken sniffed at them a bit and even experimentally bit at them. But all he found out from that was how disgusting they tasted. He heard a couple of the CCG officers near the door now laughing at him and one even saying, "Fucking animal," just loud enough for him to be intentionally overheard by all those present. He stopped messing with his cuffs and lowered his head; now embarrassed.

He then felt a kind hand rub his head comfortingly and looked up to see the smiling face of his father. "It's okay. I promise you we'll all get through this and be one big happy family again. Trust me." Hearing those words warmed the young half ghoul's heart. Since his father never lied to him over anything this important. Ken slid over to snuggle closer to his father's side. The older man's warmth and scent comforted the child. Ken closed his eyes and blocked out everything around them. Almost wishing that he could just go to sleep now and wake up in his bed; finding out that this was all just a bad dream.

But when he opened his eyes he only saw the same depressing scene of the inside of the back of the van with way more people than the normally shy boy was comfortable with being in such close proximity with. Most of them were in some sort of body armor and carrying the scary silver briefcases. But two of them were wearing rather normal clothes.

While he looked over them all, the only woman in the van smiled at him and waved. Her scent and the collar around her neck that was just like his revealed to him that she was ghoul. "Hello, what's your name?" she asked in a warm voice. Still a bit shy, Ken mumbled, "M…my…my na...me is Ken… Ken Kaneki." She giggled at his cute response before she introduced herself. "I'm Kaya Irimi. I know it seems scary now, but I think in the end you will come to enjoy the reservation. It's really not as scary as it seems at first. You can live with others of our kind and you don't ever have to hide who you are there either. Not to mention the coffee there is really great. I actually work at one of the more popular places there when I'm not on assignment. I promise I'll give you a cup of our finest when you come over. On the house." To be honest, that did sound nice to the young boy.

Eventually the truck stopped and everyone got off. Ken found himself looking in wonder at the large wall in front of him. It had to be larger than many of the skyscrapers he'd seen around Tokyo. They were in front of the large main gate to the ward; richly decorated for attracting guests during business hours. Right next to it was a more business looking employee only door.

"Welcome to the twentieth fifth ward."

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 **And so that was the first chapter. How did you like it? I want the first few chapters to be based around Ken's early life and getting used to the new ward. Maybe meeting Hide during this time.**

 **I will warn you, I still plan to have trials of the Kaneki family be my primary work. So this series will probably have an irregular release schedule with possible long periods between releases.**

 **I also don't have a real idea where this is going. I don't even have the names of Ken's parents set up yet. So ideas for this series are welcome.**

 **So please review.**


	2. tests and history

**Wow I was not expecting that many people to get on board with this in just one chapter. Actually makes me scared that I'll screw up. Especially since, unlike Trials, I have no set storyline to follow yet. I only have another couple chapters clearly planned. I need to figure that out eventually.**

 **And here is the first exposition chapter with only one line of dialogue. Hopefully this helps you guys get an idea of how this version of the TG universe works. And if you find a problem in this this be free to tell me. Like I said so far I am winging it.**

 **well enjoy.**

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Ken was saddened but not surprised when they forced him to separate from his father. They had entered the processing center for new arrivals into the twenty fifth ward. Unlike what he had feared though, the place did not look like some medieval torture dungeon. Instead it appeared as a very sterile lab or medical center. They went through several doors and locked gates passing by other workers. Some looked at with neutral indifference. A couple even seemed sorry for the young boy. Though a great many of them looked at him as no more than as another beast being locked in this zoo for the safety of the public. He held onto his father's pants leg; still scared stiff at the new and still rather unfriendly environment.

Sadly though, eventually they reached a point where the hallway branched into two paths. They said his father would have to go one way, while he went the other. Since his dad had decided to stay rogue and not surrender to the CCG of his own free will, he was considered a criminal and possible hostile ghoul and therefore was being sent to the ghoul prison. He tried to look strong as they led his dad away, but tears still leaked out of his young eyes. He was now all alone without either of his doting parents who had almost never left the boy by himself; even at their small home. He also feared for his father because of all the horrible stories he had heard of about Cochlea. He was very much afraid that this would be the last he saw of either his mom or dad.

Eventually a doctor and a couple CCG guards were able to get the young half-ghoul to follow them down the other path. Since he was deemed too young to be at any fault for the decision of remaining out of the assigned ward for ghouls. So he would go through with the formal processing and acclimation period before being allowed to freely travel in the newest ward of Tokyo. Technically this was not the twenty fifth but the twenty fourth Tokyo ward. When the idea had first been proposed, a few decades ago, they had tried to find a place in the city itself but the public and the officials of every ward adamantly refused to house any ghouls in their respective wards. Even if they were so called tamed ghouls.

In the end, after a large legal battle both in several sectors of the government, courts, and the CCG itself, the decision was made to just build an entirely new ward for the project just outside the city proper. The project was rushed into completion, with a majority of the funds coming from private donations from around the world, before it could be challenged again by opponents. The first version of the ward was completed in an amazingly short five years. And the Prime minister of Japan himself, with several other high level diplomats and leaders from around the world spectating, officially opened and christened the new twenty fourth ward. However because of the stigma of the term twenty fourth ward, most CCG officials and ghouls called it the twenty fifth ward unofficially.

The ward turned out to be a success. While and many ghouls were apprehensive about trusting the CCG at first, the peaceful ones or just weak ones begin to register and enter the ward. Within the first year of operation, the amount of ghoul related crimes and attacks, dropped by a significant amount. The CCG also saw the positive effects of less resources and time wasted hunting otherwise non aggressive ghouls as well as investigators not being killed or wounded in pointless battles.

The ward proved to be even a financial gain. The ghouls provided both a workforce and a market that many companies and stores could take advantage of. For example many hospitals found that through the Tsukiyama Corporation, they could sell some of their biological medical wastes for a profit instead of just destroying it. Some people would also sell the ward a donation of their blood. It was also easier to research on or with ghouls when said ghouls were complacent; one corporation already working on how to copy the ghoul's remarkable strength into newer forms of body armor. And the biggest financial boom from the ward coming from the CCG being able to open it up as a tourist attraction. Like Disney land if it was filled with mascots that could literally eat you.

Over time, the ward continued to grow and gain growing support. Many other nations, especially Western and Asian ones, opened up their own ghoul reservations. Still there were some who still opposed the system and you could usually see some sort of protesters around the walls or trying to antagonize one of the ghouls who had been sent out on a mission for the CCG or a job for someone they had a contract with. And of course there were still villainous ghouls who refused to cooperate with the humans or ones like his father, who didn't trust or like the ward for one reason or another. That was why there was almost a yearly vote on whether to keep the ward operational or how much freedom the ghouls living there were truly guaranteed.

Ken found himself first forced to answer some questions and take some tests. The tests and questions were a mix of both mundane things and more investigational ones. Like intelligence or psychological tests, and questions about his age, what he liked to play, what he thought of humans, how nice were his parents, how many people they had killed, why had they killed them, and in what way. Ken also felt slightly more relaxed. The weapon wielding guards had remained outside the room and the lady asking these questions and giving him the tests was nice and patient with him. But he was still on guard. He still remembered the scary stories his dad had told him about what the CCG did to ghouls and what had happened to his grandparents.

Finally they had finished and Ken was now lead to a medical room where they began to take his physical measurements and readings; including a bite test and molding of his teeth. It felt weird for Ken while the medical personal scanned him, shinned lights in his eyes and ears, and tested his reflexes. They also took samples of his spit and urine for more tests. Once they were finished with these, they asked him to eat a small square cube of meat. He popped it in his mouth and immediately noted the strange taste; wondering if what his dad said, about them altering the meat in the ward for some reason was true. Within seconds afterward, though, he began to feel sedated.

The square had been filled with some ghoul sedatives and RC suppressants. The medics laid Ken face down and used this time to safely do more invasive tests without the upsetting the ghoul pup. They took a blood sample. They felt along his back to locate his kakuhou before cutting his lower back open, which Ken barely felt, and taking notes on its size and health; also taking some samples of both his tissue and kakahou and what would eventually be his kagune. Finally the medics closed the incisions and wheeled Ken into a rather formal looking meeting room before leaving and locking the door behind them. Slowly the young half ghoul awoke. His back felt sore but his advanced healing soon cleared that up. Once he was able to get his legs to work well enough, Ken got out of the chair they had left him in and began to explore the room. He did finally find a bookcase and, deciding that it would be boring just sitting there waiting, grabbed the first book he found that looked interesting before returning to his chair. Ken read nearly a fourth of the book before the door opened and a large man came in. The man left his scary silver briefcase by the door and draped his coat over it before coming over and smiling at Ken. He reached out his hand for the young boy to shake.

"Good evening Ken. My name is Shinohara Yukinori. I'll be your CCG liaison and caretaker for the foreseeable future. A pleasure to meet you."

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 **And there you have it Shinohara is Ken's CCG guardian. I felt that he was one of the nicest CCG officials and decided to give Ken a break of sorts. Plus it fits into the psychological manipulations the CCG uses that I'll cover next chapter. As for why I a special class investigator is doing this, I felt that both the CCG would like someone of importance to take care of their only half-ghoul sample and I feel that any investigator could be a caretaker and I could see some of the high class ones that are in support of the ward deciding to do for some reason.**

 **I am still going to keep open the name for Ken's parents for a couple more chapters before I make a decision based on those suggested but if no one else offers, I'll just go with 00s suggestions by default. I am also somewhat thinking of making some more OCs though that is questionable. So you can suggest some if you'd like.**

 **The next part will take a bit more work since I want to put in some things about how the CCG tries to make young ghouls like them despite the fact that their job is basically jailing or killing them all. So that may be a bit slow. I do know how I'll bring Hide in but Touka is still in early planning stages.**

 **So please review fav and follow**


	3. Shinohara

**Here is the next chapter. And again its filled with a ton of exposition. I Hope it looks good for you guys though. And at least it has more dialogue this time. I would say more but Im not really sure what to say other than I should have probably figured out something else to reference Shinohara by other than his name over and over again. I think it shows up more than any other word in this chapter.**

 **So enjoy.**

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Shinohara looked over the file for the newly acquired inhabitants of the twenty-fifth ward. Two rinkaku types. Both in perfect health despite living off of scavenging. And thankfully neither had shown any serious aggression when approached or during processing. Putting them at an E rank threat level. However this didn't mean they were weak. Tamed ghouls all had low ranks on the original scale due to them being genial to some degree with humans. Instead their strength was rated on a secondary rank based solely on capability. Officially it had the same ranks as the threat scale but many jokingly added a negative to the rank. The child ghoul, half-ghoul Shinohara reminded himself, was still too young to properly test but his pedigree hinted at being highly capable in the future. Meanwhile the father ghoul had tested into the high (-) S to possibly the low to mid (-) SS rank.

This made Shinohara very grateful that the family had surrendered peacefully. A ghoul that powerful, especially of the offensive oriented rinkaku type, could have caused massive amounts of collateral damage and casualties. Shinohara was glad that these Rinkaku appeared to be calm and would be able to integrate safely and without incident. Their species was the one most likely to act out violently or against the rules during the integration phase. Thanks to this, there were many investigators who refused to work with them; seeing them as unstable or untrainable. It also didn't help that they had been the least likely of the four species to join the new ward in the beginning. Most of them now part of the program had been captured afterwards instead or were the children of such ghouls.

Personally though, Shinohara liked rinkakus. He thought of the rinkakus as being similar to dogs or wolves and Shinohara had always been a dog person. It was true that when they first arrived, they were the most likely to act out. But after a little work they turned out to be quite great companions. They were also loyal almost to a fault. One time when he had been injured badly in a raid gone wrong, practically every rinkaku that he was in charge of had come to his hospital room to visit him. Many of them had even been allowed to stay with him and slept in the room with him; guarding their wounded pact member. Shinohara even liked how frank they usually were. Even if it had once or twice led to rather heated sparing matches to air work out the irritation at some of the more choice comments.

Shinohara looked over the picture of the child again. One Ken Kaneki. The only half-ghoul currently in the CCG custody and the second documented occurrence of one to have been verified. All his tests had been good and he seemed well suited to taming. The medical and scientific staff in particular were extremely excited about this. Even if it was inconsequential to the situation in Tokyo at large, the chance to study something as rare and spectacular as a living half ghoul had the researchers already arguing over who would get a spot on his observation team. Apparently command thought there was some importance to this since Shinohara had been put in charge of this case by direct orders from the CCG head. Shinohara just hoped that this worked out for the young boy in the end. Despite his species, he felt he deserved a happy life and Shinohara planned to give it to him.

The first step though, would be establishing dominance in the mind of the young boy. That way the boy would listen to him and would be less likely to defy the CCG. A researcher appeared and handed him a spray bottle. He took and sprayed it over himself. The spray didn't smell much to him at least. However the pheromones in it, which had been humanely harvested from the father, should help the child relax. He handed the bottle back to the researcher and joked, "Let's hope that this one isn't a nipper."

He stepped in the room and noticed that the boy had been reading a book. _'Impressive for such a young one,'_ he thought; seeing the rather large and difficult book the boy had chosen. That was good. Smarter ones are usually more adaptive to integration. Shinohara noticed the boy's nervous reaction to his entrance and how his eyes shot to his quinque. So he placed it down and covered it with his coat to help him calm down. He then approached with the warmest smile he could and raised his hand out for Ken and said, "Good evening Ken. My name is Shinohara Yukinori. I'll be your CCG liaison and caretaker for the foreseeable future. A pleasure to meet you." He noticed Kaneki's nostrils flair a bit before the boy calmed down; shown by a subtle shift in his body language. _'Good. The pheromones seemed to have worked,'_ Shinohara thought.

Ken shook his hand and replied, "Ken Kaneki." He could tell that his new ward still appeared uncomfortable but that was to be expected. Shinohara motioned to the small table with two chairs. "Please have seat Ken. I'll make us some coffee." Ken sat down and Shinohara soon followed with two cups of fresh coffee. "I hope it's good. Sorry to say, but my skills pale in comparison to some of the ghouls who live here. I honestly don't think I could live without Coffee Avenue anymore." He laughed at his little remark but Ken just tilted his head in confusion before taking a sip. He smiled back at the man and replied, "No it's good. Though not as good as my fathers." He visibly sulked at the mention of his now missing parent. Shinohara took a sip as well. "Sounds like you respect him a lot." The boy nodded before looking Shinohara in the eyes. He could have sworn Ken was trying to do his best puppy dog eyes as he asked, "Where is he? Is he ok? You didn't hurt him did you? Can I see him? And what about mom?"

Shinohara put his coffee down and sighed. He answered, "Ken. I can assure that your father is fine. He will be treated humanely and fairly. But he still broke the law by going rogue. Technically you did too, but you're young and were just following your father's decision so you're not at fault. But your father has to be punished. So he has been sent to Cochlea for breaking the law." He saw the crushed look in the boy's eyes and he honestly felt bad for him. But this was a crucial step in the integration program. He placed a hand on the young man's shoulder and told him, "But I promise you, I'll help. I can see what I can do to free your father. I promise you, I'll protect both of you." Ken looked relieved.

Though he didn't know the truth. That the sentence for this crime was only about a year. Investigators used this trick to further gain the trust of the youngster and reinforce the idea that he was higher in the pack. They made the youngster infer that the actual length of the sentence was much longer and that it was through their help that the parent was freed sooner. This allowed them to appear to be the good guy here and that they had some useful abilities to guard the child's family. Despite them eventually learning the truth, the positive image still remained in their minds and allowed the investigator to better influence the child and through them the family at large. Shinohara was pretty certain that this would also lead the father to be more willing to be cooperative in order to appease his son.

Shinohara began to ask Ken some questions to get a feel for the boy. "Ken could you tell me why your dad didn't want to register with the CCG?" Ken fretted a bit before answering, "He said the CCG wasn't trustworthy. That they… that you hunted our kind. So he'd protect me and mom just like his father had done before for him." Shinohara took another sip of his coffee. "I see. So tell me Ken. How do you feel about humans?" He watched as the boy looked conflicted. "I don't know," he answered. "Are you scared of them?" The boy looked at him a bit surprised at his prompt. "A little. They hate us after all. One of my dad's friends once told me that they would kill us all if they could get away with it. Even me since I'm still half ghoul." He suddenly looked very scared of Shinohara and asked, "Do you hate me, Mr. Investigator?"

Shinohara smiled at Ken and rubbed his head. "I don't hate you," he assured him. "In fact it's my job to take care of you and your father and help both of you live happily here. But you have to understand that you are different and therefore you have to remain here and follow the orders of the CCG understand?" Ken nodded again before asking the one thing Shinohara didn't want him to ask. "And what about mom?"

Shinohara sighed again and closed his eyes as he tried to think of an answer. This was not something he had had to deal with before. Having to talk to the ghoul child about their human parent. He decided to be honest about it. Feeling that it would be worse if he tried to cover it up or make it sound nice. "I'm sorry to tell you that it's out of my hands. Being a human, your mother is not under the jurisdiction of the CCG, but the Japanese police force. And they still have pretty tough laws about protecting rogue ghouls on the books. I'm sure we could get the CCG to provide her with a good lawyer but that's about it. Sorry." He actually felt quite depressed when he heard Ken start to sniffle and tear up. "But she didn't do anything wrong." Shinohara found himself agreeing with him. But this was a matter for the Japanese court system to handle now.

Shinohara asked him a few more questions, like what his favorite books were or what he liked to play, to better understand Ken. About three hours went by before he was finished. Ken was barely staying awake so Shinohara decided to show him to where he would be staying for the near future. "For now, we want to keep a close watch on you. So you're going to have to stay in the CCG's child dorms for the next few months. Until we deem it safe enough for you to mingle with the rest of the ward's population. Don't want you getting hurt out or lost out there." He led Ken through the CCG medical instillation till they reached a hallway lined with doors; each one with name plates. He opened one on the left with a blank nameplate and led Ken in.

It was a rather decent sized room with a separate bathroom and bath, a bed, desk, a small table, tv, a simple laptop, and some empty dressers and bookcases. "I know it's not much but make yourself at home. We'll bring you some sets of clothes for you and you will get an allowance that you can spend however you like while you live here." Shinohara then went to a small button next to the door. "Just press this if you need anything. Goodnight Ken." And with that he left and closed the door. Ken investigated the room before his fatigue got the best of him and he curled up in the bed and fell asleep.

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 **Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next one I plan to introduce Hide.**

 **Please, Read, Review, Fav, and Follow.**


	4. meetings

**Im sorry that this is late. I had some family over Sunday and ended up having to spend the day with them so I didnt get this done till today and now I'm too lazy to edit this so I'll put up this first draft form. If it needs it, I can re upload it after some editing but this is pretty much what i wanted to get through.**

 **And I'm kinda surprised this one, that I didn't really plan is getting popular way faster than my other one that has a planned narrative. I guess it helps that this one is its own original plot and fresh. So thanks for reading and please enjoy.**

 **Also so that you know. Any name suggestions for Ken's parents will end with the next chapter. I want to put the dad within the sixth chapter. And so far I have had only one suggestion so for now that is what I am going with because I am too lazy to make up my own.**

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Ken stopped to look at himself in the mirror. His clothes were rather bland; the way he liked it. Maybe due to being shy kid or his father teaching him not to bring attention to himself, he had a particular preference for clothes that would just let the boy blend into the crowd. He also had on a medical eyepatch. The nice investigator had looked at him weird when he had requested it but Ken had insisted until the man had brought him one. The reason was he didn't want to just show everyone what he was. At least for now. Secrets and knowledge were still quite powerful advantages and weakness even in the tamed ghoul population. He knew some would probably figure out by his scent but most would just assume that he'd been sucking up to his human and gotten his stench on him. He wanted it to be on his terms when he revealed that he was a half-ghoul.

It had been only few days since he had been brought here. Nothing much had occurred since that first tumultuous night. Most of his time was spent in this room. When he wasn't here he was usually with the scientists again doing all sorts of tests like an obstacle course at one point. He was still miffed that he hadn't beaten the record for fastest completion by a rinkaku. They also had him taste some human food while strapped to some machines to read his biological reactions to it. He hated that test. They would sometimes spend up an hour having him take a bite, chew it, try to swallow it, and then describe its taste. They even tasted how much he could handle eating before passing out or throwing up. Other than with the scientists, Ken was only allowed out when Shinohara could escort him.

Ken was feeling a bit trapped, but his investigator had assured him that this was only temporary. They just wanted him to be safe and learn the rules first before they let him out on his own. Apparent the place he was staying was a small closed off part of the ward for the new children to the ward to be safely integrated. Ken decided that since it was only for a few months, he could deal with it. Especially in return for Shinohara and his help. He was still a bit nervous around a real live dove but over this half week or so, the man had not only shown no animosity but actually been quite friendly to Ken. He would take him out on walks around the center and talk to him about his worries over a nice cup of coffee. He also brought Kaneki what he needed or bought with the bit of money the CCG was giving him.

He heard a knock and the door opened to Shinohara. "Good morning Ken. How are you feeling?" Ken smiled nervously at the man and answered, "I am doing well, Shinohara." The older man grinned largely at him. "That's good to hear." He then came over and put a strong hand on Ken's shoulder and told him, "Ken, how do you feel about the idea of school?"

Shinohara didn't miss the spark of interest in Ken's eyes. He couldn't help but lightly laugh a bit. Rogue ghoul children were always so excited when they found out about this. Being usually denied such a luxury as an education they nearly jumped at the chance to do what most kids dreaded. Maybe that was why the twenty fifth ward had many children who scored high enough to outshine those from the other wards of Tokyo. There were even several ghouls who had taken to tutoring, guest lecturing, or working in the CCG research center. These were the successful tamings that the CCG lauded to the public. Ghouls so well integrated that they were truly giving back to mankind for the chance they were given in this ward.

"I've heard about it. A place where you can read books, learn all about the world, and meet lots of kids. But my parents said it was too dangerous to go. So I've never seen it." His face was a light flush of pink. Embarrassed at his all most fairy tale like vision of the place that had been denied to him. Shinohara smiled warmly at him. "Well today, we are going to have you start to attend the one we have here. It will only be short term, but once you are properly registered and released into the ward, you will most likely enter one of the schools there. I hear that the Tsukiyama University has an impressive literature program." Ken gulped in shock. "Really?" he asked. Shinohara nodded and began to lead Ken out of the room. "Yes, in fact classes will begin shortly so just follow me." Ken stayed close to Shinohara as he walked down the hall. The man's presence made him feel at ease as they passed the researchers and the occasional investigator. He would quickly glance at them and then pull his gaze back down to the floor. He also watched as other children were led around by the CCG personal. None of them were allowed to be out without some form of supervision. He guessed that was because they didn't know all of the rules and it would be dangerous for them.

Eventually they reached a hallway which reminded Ken of the description of a school hallway from some of the novels he had read or the shows he had seen on the television. Shinohara led him to one of the doors and knocked on it. When a female voice said, "Enter," from inside the room Shinohara opened the door and led Ken through it. Inside Ken saw a rather pretty older woman. Probably no older than his own mom. Her scent and the collar resting on her neck indicated that she was a ghoul. She exuded a rather a comforting, motherly aura that made Ken feel a little more relaxed around her. Especially compared to the more frightening CCG investigators and researchers who he had to deal with since he had arrived here. Her outfit looked simple but suited her.

She smiled as she saw them both enter. "Good morning Shinohara. I've been expecting you." Shinohara replied, "Good morning to you too Ryouko. It's nice to see you again after so long." The woman identified as Ryouko giggled. "So long? It's only been about a couple weeks." Embarrassed, Shinohara scratched the back of his head. "Really. Only that long? Sorry about that. Been busy taking care of our newest resident. This is Ken Kaneki." Ken politely bowed at the woman. "I hope that he will fit in here." Ryouko looked down at Ken. "I'm sure he will," she assured, "He looks like a nice boy."

She approached Ken and kneeled down in front of him. Ken, still a bit nervous in front of a new person, ducked behind Shinohara's leg; only slightly leaning out to look at the new ghoul. She giggled a bit again. "A shy one I see. You remind me of my daughter. My name is Ryouko Fueguchi. I am one of the teachers here for when they have new children like you come in. Pleasure to me you." Ken slowly came out and also said, "A please to me you as well. Mrs. Fueguchi." Shinohara was pleased that things seemed to be going well. "Ken," he began, "Ryouko here will be your teacher for the next six months. She's a great teacher." A little while later Shinohara left around the same time the other kids started to come in. And so the young Ken Kaneki attended his first day of school.

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While Ken was in the classroom, Shinohara went to the break room for CCG personal in the facility. He was relaxing at one of the tables with a small bit of refreshments. Someone else soon approached him. A man who looked like a mix between an old man and a slasher villain. He smirked at Shinohara. "It's been a while Shinohara." Shinohara looked up at the other man and replied, "Mado? What are you doing here? You usually never set foot into this ward." Mado grimaced at being reminded where he was. "Of course I don't. I can't stand the stench of this ward. All of these scum being allowed to live happily just because they can bring us a few extra Yen in tourism revenue. At least they provide us with a harvestable supply of material."

Shinohara looked uncomfortable at that remark. "Come on Mado. They aren't that bad. The one's here are peaceful and thanks to this ward we have seen a great reduction in casualties both due to the reduced need for dangerous raids and with their aid in combat situations." But Mado didn't look that convinced. Instead he just said, "The only reason I came here was to pick up my new quinque. Apparently one of the CCG's little pets aided in its development and though I am bit perturbed by that, at least it will mean a better preforming quinque. I hear you got a new dog though. A rare breed according to the rumors."

Now a bit irritated, Shinohara took another sip of his drink and replied, "Ken is a nice boy. You might like him if you gave him a chance." Mado simply laughed at this. "Me get along with a ghoul?! I'd rather be ripped apart by the One Eyed Owl! But tell me, is the rumor about the boy's parents true?!" Shinohara didn't miss the viciousness in his old friend's voice when he asked that. But it wasn't like it was confidential knowledge, so Mado would find out later anyways. So Shinohara told him, "It's true. Ken Kaneki is a confirmed one eyed ghoul. Son of a human female and a rinkaku male." Mado was quiet for a second. His gritted teeth holding in his emotions at this knowledge.

"Is that so?" he simple said and began to walk off. But he was stopped by Shinohara's voice, "Mado. Remember he is a citizen of the twenty-fifth ward and therefore under the protection of the CCG and myself personally. And I will protect him with everything I have." Mado stopped a few feet away and simple grinned without turning to look at the other investigator. "I will keep that in mind."

After that Shinohara finished his meal. He then headed towards the meeting center. Though it was more commonly known by its nickname as the petting zoo. He wanted to see how Ken did on his first day.

* * *

The twenty-fifth ward had to major sections not counting the CCG facilities around the ward as their own section. These were the public and private sections. The private sections were off limits to civilians. Both due to the danger and to give ghouls a place to relax without humans around. This made up the residential areas and where the ghouls preferred to feed. There was quite a lot of fighting in some of the private areas but the CCG had agreed that as long as no permanent injury or death occurred from this, the ghouls were free to do as they willed in claiming territory or settling disputes. There were even a few arenas that had been built for others to watch the blood spectacle.

The other section was the public area which largely took up the area around the front gate and the main street of the ward. This was built more like a theme park with tourism shops, human eateries, and little attractions like another arena where people could watch ghouls perform; though in a less gruesome way then in the private arenas. This was where visitors came both to increase the comradery between the ghouls here and the public and to enjoy a theme park that had just a hint of danger due to the workers here being literal man eaters. It also helped the CCG and the ward gain funding through tickets and tourist expenditures.

One particularly popular attraction in the public section was the Meeting center. It was also known as the petting zoo. This was an enclosed place where captured ghoul children, like Ken, could be introduced to normal humans and the CCG could gauge how they handled civilians and if more training was needed before they could be allowed to walk around unsupervised. Among those who had come to this attraction was one young boy with blonde hair. Hideyoshi Nagachika had been interested in ghouls for as long as he could remember and despite his parents' worries, he had the lifelong dream of befriending one.

He barely listened as the guide listed off what they needed to know before they entered the enclosure. He didn't like how she sounded like she was talking about some sort of animal. "Let them initiate. Some of them are easily excitable and could bite if they feel threatened," was one thing she said in that chipper voice. He instead just messed with the coffee beans he had been handed. There really wasn't much you could give a ghoul as a treat after all. Not unless you wanted to scar some of the customers by giving them human body parts.

Finally, after waiting for almost half an hour, they let them meet the ghouls. Hide was impressed. It looked like a really nice playground with equipment which included some that looked a little more ghoul oriented. Hide didn't think he wanted to try the balancing beams that were at least fifteen feet in the air; with no safety net. He saw a young girl ghoul easily run across one of them before she jumped to another lower one and then onto the ground. _'Show off,'_ Hide thought in a small fit of jealousy. He then spotted one ghoul that caught his interests.

It was a young boy who looked young like a loner. He stayed away from the front where all the active ones and the other customers stayed. Instead, he stayed in the back; under a tree. Curious, Hide approached the eyepatch wearing ghoul. "Hello," he began. The ghoul child looked up in surprised and looked like he was about to bolt up the tree before Hide quickly begged, "Calm down. I only want to talk." After he looked more relaxed, Hide sat down next to him slowly. "My name is Hideyoshi but you can call me Hide. And you are?" The other boy looked him over, trying to figure out if he was threat or not. Eventually he looked down and answered, "Kaneki. Why did you come talk to me and not one of the other ones?" Hide smiled at Kaneki. "Simple. Because you're interesting. What's up with the eyepatch? Some kind of fashion statement?"

Ken covered it with his hand before replying, "I got hurt, and it hasn't healed yet." But Hide didn't buy it. "That can't be true. Your ghoul healing should have already taken care of it. Like bam and then it's healed." Ken couldn't help it. The stupidity of that line made him laugh. "Ghouls are that invincible silly. Where did you even hear that?"  
"From a website on ghouls that I found last week." And so the two discussed the website and all the things it had wrong about ghouls till it was time for them to part ways. But Hide made sure to promise Ken that they would meet again real soon.  
 _'Make one ghoul friend. Goal succeeded.'_

* * *

 **And so Hide has shown up. I hope I did him well. I didn't really know what I wanted them to say here so I kinda just had the introduction and left the actual conversation they had to the readers imagination. And If it didn't show up well, I tried to make it where Hide sees no real difference between ghouls and humans which is rarity; even among those who support ghouls.**

 **Next chapter will probably have a small time skip of a few months so that Ken can actually be in the ward itself and we can meet some other new characters probably ( I really have no plan for this fic so far. I'm using these setup/prequel chapters as an excuse not to make up the main plot yet).**

 **And for those of you who read it, I plan to put up a Christmas special for trials. SO look forward to that, unless I get writters block. and then I'll get to working on the next chapter of that one and have it out soonish.**

 **please read, review, fav, and follow**

 **thanx.**


	5. coffee

**Well here is this part. I was suffering from both writers block and last weekend being busy with my sisters birthday so its a bit late and very rushed. The ending I openly admit was tacked on since I couldn't figure a better place to place it and I was running out of steam at that part. Still at least I got it out.**

 **I do have an idea for the first major arc with Mado. though after that is still in the dark. and I will admit that this will still be on a slow release schedule. Well reviews are very welcome on this one since as I said its still in planning stages so i hope that its good.  
**

* * *

"So this is our new home?" Ken simply stated. It had been six months since Ken had been brought to the ward and now, after finishing all the tests and the integration period he was now allowed into the ward proper. Shinohara had helped him gather all his stuff and brought him to where he would be living with his father from now on; after he got out of prison. According to Shinohara, this was the rinkaku block. There were four blocks for families of the same kagune type with two mixed blocks behind them near the back of the ward. For privacy these blocks were kept far away from the tourist areas. Only CCG officials and special guests were allowed to come. Though he did hint that allowances could be made for a human friend or two to come visit under supervision. Ken noticed that the apartment was furnished. Not high quality but usable. Overall it was surprisingly nice. Not at all like the stories his father had told him about the CCG.

Shinohara had also pass Ken a cell phone. He put his number in and told Ken to call him if he had any problems and that he would keep working to free Ken's father. Shinohara told him that things did look promising and that it could be as soon as a year. Ken hoped that he would be released soon. It was lonely without his mom and dad. Ken spent a bit of time watching the tv before deciding to head out. After greeting the neighbors, handing them each a nice bag of coffee beans, Ken began to explore.

The ward looked a lot like his home ward. Minus the food stores and resturants of course. These had been replaced by lots of coffee shops, novelty mask shops, and other such ghoul establishments. He did pass by a couple bars though. It was possible to ferment several liquids from the human body and some ghouls just liked the atmosphere. He also saw vending machines that instead of juice and cola, had water, coffee, and both fermented and unfermented blood.

He also passed by the hospital. He remembered Mrs. Fueguchi telling him that her husband worked there. It was small compared to a human hospital. But that was to be expected. Unlike humans, ghouls only rarely needed to go to the doctor. He did wave at one of the nurses at the entrance as he walked by. She smiled at him and waved back.

The people he met were interesting as well. They were both threating and friendly. Basically it seemed like they were trying to be nice, but maybe due to the nature of ghouls or just past experiences, they always seemed to watching out for any aggressive behavior. Showing as little weakness as possible. He did make sure to introduce himself to as many as possible; if only to assuage their fears.

Eventually he reached the tourist regions with a can of coffee in hand. It was a bright and cheerful here and a bit much for the shy kid. Still he wanted to see what it was like so he walked around. It was an interesting experience to say the least. Apparently being a cute ghoul child got him a lot of attention. With people asking if they could take photos and even just wanting to pet him. He soon found himself exhausted and at one of the main attractions of this place; the coffee district.

This was a street that was filled with coffee shops with the highest quality coffee in all of Tokyo. And as such was very popular among ghouls and humans alike. Some people even visited the ward simply to come here. Which of course meant it was quite crowded. But Ken decided to be brave and weaved through the crowds to his target. During his time at the CCG integration facility he had gotten Shinohara to tell him where that one woman who had been with the team that had captured his family worked. She had promised him a cup of coffee after all.

He soon arrived at the particular shop. Its elegant look showed tastes. Even the signboard advertising it by the name of Anteiku was neat and looked good. Ken pushed the door open and walked in to the bustling shop. He heard a voice welcome him in as a waitress approached him. They recognized each other when they met eyes. "Ah, it's you. Finally, been let out into the ward proper now huh?" she asked in a friendly voice. Ken nodded. "Yes, Miss Irimi. I was let out today actually. And I was wondering if that offer for a cup of your finest was still valid." The older woman smiled at Ken and beckoned him over to the counter. "Of course it is. Come on and have a seat and I'll make it right away."

Ken came over and sat down in front of Irimi as she began to make a fresh cup for the boy. When she was done, she placed it in front of him. "Here you go, one fresh cup of Anteiku coffee. Black I assume. Though if you are feeling a bit hungry," she waved her hand to a bowl filled with brown colored sugar cubes. "You can put a few of these in it. Special sugar cubes for ghouls. They can even curb your hunger for a bit. They are actually pretty good. We make our own in house so you can be certain of the quality." Curios, Ken put a few of them in the cup and tried it. They did in fact add a bit of flavor to the coffee. Ken smiled at Irimi and thanked her.

"Oh, a new customer?" asked another voice. Ken turned around to see a rather plump man in a waiter uniform who also wore the same collar that half of the people in this place also wore. He smiled kindly at the boy, who darted his eyes away; slightly afraid of the new stranger. Irimi smacked the man playfully. "Don't scare Ken, Enji. He's new here and a bit shy." The man laughed again. "I wasn't trying to scare him. Sorry about that, Ken was it? The name is Enji Koma. Pleasure to meet you." He held out his hand and Ken nervously shook it. "Ken Kaneki. Sir." This caused the older man to laugh again. "You certainly know how to show respect. Calling me sir. So how do you like the place?"

Ken didn't know if he was talking about the coffee shop or the ward itself but he answered, "It's nice. The atmosphere is welcoming and comfortable." His smile though faltered a bit though. "I just wish my parents could be here as well." Koma placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to comfort the boy. "Don't worry too much about it. I'm sure you'll see them soon."

"Oh. Looks like the manager is back," Irimi stated as she looked over to the door. Ken turned as well to see an older man enter. He looked grandfatherly for a lack of a better word to him. But he also noticed that he gave off an aura of strength. Of a leader. Ken felt a bit nervous as the manager came over. "How was the meeting?" Koma asked. The manager took of his coat and hat as he replied, "Nothing much. We were able to get through most of what we had on the agenda today." He looked over at Ken. "You're Ken Kanaki right? Shinohara's new case right?" Ken jumped a bit. Surprised that the man knew him. But the manager just laughed a bit at him and assured him, "Sorry. I did not mean to scare you. I was just privy to your case since I am a member of the council."

"Council?" Ken asked as he tilted his head in confusion. Irimi told him, "It's sort of our governing body. The CCG has the final say in all things in this ward but they do talk with the council about things first. The council is a group of ghouls who represent all of us who live here and make certain that the CCG keeps our best interest in their decisions. Think of it like Parliament." Ken looked up at the manager with a newfound awe which made him laugh again. "It's not that big a deal. Mostly just extra paperwork and sitting around and talking. Nothing to get too bent out of shape about young boy. By the way the name is Yoshimura." Ken shook his hand and replied, "It's nice to meet you. And your coffee here is some of the best I've ever had."

Yoshimura smiled at him. "Why thank you, Ken. It's nice to hear such things. Hmm, about coffee, do you know how to make your own yet." Ken wilted a bit. "Only the instant kind. Nothing like the quality of the cups you serve here." He looked down at his still half full cup and inhaled the rich inviting sent again. "It even leagues above what my dad could do." Yoshimura then looked at Ken speculatively before asking him, "Would you like to learn how? We can't give you a real job yet. Labor laws still apply in this ward. However, you can still come here to train under me and who knows, in a few years there could be an opening for you." Ken was so excited that he found himself unable to say anything. Just nod. And so Ken joined the ranks of Anteiku's finest.

* * *

It was later when Ken was at Anteiku for training. That he first met Juuzou. Shinohara was running a field trip for the CCG academy to the ward. The idea here was to teach the trainees about tamed ghouls and how to use them properly. It was also during these field trips that many of these kids would meet ghouls who would eventually become their preferred partners. Since they were going to trust each other with their lives, they needed to build a state of trust between the two.

Shinohara had them stop by Anteiku for a break. It was when they had to leave a that a small problem arose. For some reason or other Juuzou either ignored or didn't hear Shinohara, so he didn't get up but remained seated at his table. So Ken, deciding to be of helped tried to get his attention. Unfortunately, he decided to do this by coming behind him and taping him on the shoulder.

What he didn't know was that this was not really that long after Juuzou had been rescued from the clutches of violent ghouls. As such he was still not completely adjusted from his days as a scrapper. So when Ken touched him, he reacted on instinct and stabbed at the boy's neck with the knife he had from his meal.

Ken felt a something hit him. In confusion he reached for the spot and felt the small bruise that would clear up in a couple minutes on his neck. His reaction was simply to tell the boy, "That was rude." The ghouls of course had barely any reaction. Perhaps a giggle or two or a roll of their eyes. The humans, on the other hand, freaked out. Either frightened or excited about what just happened and started passing around the damaged knife and taking pictures here and there. Ken found it all a bit annoying. It wasn't that big a deal after all.

Shinohara soon rushed over and apologized to Ken. But Ken waved him off. Not wanting to cause a fuss over something so minor. And so the field trip group soon left and Ken was given another cup of coffee by Yoshimura. Never expecting to see the young boy again.

* * *

 **Once again, sorry for putting out something rushed. Been hard to find the time and drive to write these past three weeks. Still I do plan to keep working. Next chapter i put out will be for trials though. Possibly an omake as i finalize what i want to do in the next part of that arc.**

 **as always please enjoy, review, fav, and follow.**


	6. the request

**Well this is super late. I've actually been working on this for about a month but each time i sat down to do it i was too tired or busy to work on it. plus my other fic still takes precedence over this one. But now its out.**

 **I don't really have anything else to say other than that this was mostly halfbaked idea while i wrote it and I still don't know what name I'll do for his wife.**

* * *

Harima stretched as he exited the CCG car, before heading to the entrance. It had been a year since that night where his family was torn apart. He had heard from the CCG officials who he talked with that his wife and son were alright but he was still scared for them. He was especially worried for Ken. The shy little boy had never spent much more than an hour or so away from at least one of his parents. Now he had been forced to spend a year without either. Harima prayed for the boy's safety and, regardless of the CCG, he would destroy anyone who had hurt his precious boy.

He was led through the familiar hallway, but this time in the opposite pathway then the one he had taken last time. The other one had led to a rather sterile looking room that sorta looked like a military court room. There he had been sentence to Cochela for a full year for failing to register and remaining outside the CCG approved ward. He was then put back in the car and driven to the prison where he received a physical and had his fingerprints and mugshots taken. After that he was put in the block for nonviolent offenders. Here he met others who like him were serving a year for not surrendering to the doves as well as some who had done petty crime or broken rules in the twenty fifth ward. Overall it wasn't that bad a place. They were allowed some time to exercise in below ground but open air lot, were kept fed, and even given a library and longue like room with a television that they could visit for a few hours a day. He read a lot during his incarceration.

He also talked with some prison psychiatrist. From what he understood, it was her job to figure out exactly how innocent or dangerous he was. So they talked and did some tests. She questioned him on why he went rogue, how he got meat, what kind of crimes had he performed while rogue if any, and other such things. He told her the honest truth. He hadn't trusted the CCG and instead had listened to his parents who had told him to stay away from them. She seemed have expected this. Apparently Rinkakus do this sort of thing a lot. Trusting and listening to family over impersonal authorities. So she argued against his beliefs and, despite his best efforts to not give in, she began to make a lot of sense. Especially when she talked about how his parents being more predatory ghouls would have a negative view of the CCG regardless of its good intentions and there for any arguments from them would have been inherently flawed.

But he was finally free. Now that he was finished with his sentence, he had to meet the man who would work with his family and, most importantly, meet his son again. He also needed to find out what had happened to his wife. She was human so the normal police had taken her away. That could be either really bad or really good depending on several random factors.

Harima was finally led into the meeting room. It had a nice table with few chairs around it, a small bookcase, and was laid out in a rather benign, relaxing arrangement. Inside, one man sat at the table looking towards Harima with a sincere smile on his face. A man he recognized. "Investigator Shinohara?" The man looked a bit surprised to be recognized. He laughed a bit and replied, "It seems my reputation proceeds me a bit." He didn't miss the slight defensiveness that seeped into Harima's posture. He held up his hand and told him, "Calm down Harima. I'm only here to help you and your son. All the checks on you came back clean and the prison psychologist said you seemed rehabitable. So you don't have to worry about being eliminated at all. I promise you that." He sighed a bit in relief when the ghoul relaxed a bit. Though he still appeared worried and prepared to fight.

"And where is he? My son." Shinohara smiled a bit to the man and told him, "Don't worry. He's coming and should be here any minute now. I sent a text to him and a mutual friend ours is escorting him as well." Now this was interesting to Harima. "Ken made a friend?" It actually relieved him a bit. He had always been worried for the boy since he seemed so introverted. Though he had to admit part of that was his fault for being so overprotective of the boy and not letting him grow up.

Shinohara laughed again at what he saw. To be honest, it was sort of cute in a way. Even a powerful ghoul looked silly with a face of wide-eyed surprise. "Actually friends. One of them is a boy under my care in training to become a ghoul investigator. A bit of an oddball but I'm hoping that this friendship can help the both of them. The other friend is also a human. A rather nice lad who comes to visit Ken often and seems to becoming Ken's best friend… out of two."

Harima's was flabbergasted by this. "He made friends with humans?" he asked; trying to grasp the situation. Shinohara simply smirked at him. "It's not that big a deal is it? I mean you have a human wife right?" Shinohara watched as Harima opened his mouth to object but wasn't able to voice anything. But still he felt afraid. He knew that living peacefully with humans was possible since he married one. But he also knew it could be dangerous. He just didn't want his son to be hurt.

It was now that the door opened and a cheerful greeting from Suzuya filled the room. He waltzed in quite happily with Kaneki behind him. He was actually pulling the other boy by the arm and embarrassing Ken who was trying to pull Juuzo's off of his arm. Arguing that he could walk by himself. But he froze and fell silent when he saw his dad. Instantly tears formed in his eyes. "Father," he croaked before running to him and jump in his arms. The two of them just held each other like that for a bit while Shinohara looked happy for them and Juuzo looked bored. Finally, they untangled from each other and Harima asked, "How have you been? Are you happy here? They didn't hurt you at all? Have you been eating properly?"

Ken sniffled before telling his father all about his last year here. About how nice Shinohara had been. All the other ghouls who he had met; especially the coffee shop Anteiku. He bragged about his training there and how much he wanted for his father to try his coffee. He even told him about the two human friends who he had made. When he was done, Ken's father laughed at him kindly. "Sounds like you had a big adventure," he joked to which Ken nodded before he hugged his father again. "But now you're back. And we can enjoy all of those things together. And… hopefully… with mom. Can mom come back too?"

Harima rubbed his son's head before looking to Shinohara. The other man sighed before telling him, "That's part of what we were going to talk about in the meeting. If you'll take a seat, we'll start with the basic stuff." The group soon sat at the table. Including Suzuya, who would get bored and start to just mess around and distract the others for a bit till Shinohara scolded him and he'd sit still again. For few minutes before he started this all over again. As for the discussion, most of it was over basic stuff. Such as giving Harima a detailed report on how his son had lived and been treated this last year and what they would be provided by the CCG monthly. After they had gone over the housing they were provided in the rinkaku ward, and having to sign several documents and waivers, the conversation finally got to Ken's mother. "For starters, Ken's mother is alright. A few months ago the CCG was able to procure her release from police custody after speaking with the upper echelon of the Justice ministry. She will still be registered in police records as a ghoul sympathizer and is not allowed to leave the country except under special circumstances. She will also need to comply with the CCG's requests. Such as allowing the Science division to research into what, if anything, carrying a half ghoul child has changed in her body and how she did carry Ken to term in the first place."

The two family members nodded their understanding. It was Harima who asked, "And where is she? Safe?" Shinohara smiled and answered, "Currently in the inner wards; in an apartment provided by the CCG. However, she is under guard. Both to watch her and to protect her. She has already had a few threats against her by some rather unsavory people. I am sure you both have seen the news over the last year."

Ken thought about what he was talking about. His family had become a hot topic on TV and the internet. It was about three months after he had been released into the ward. The CCG had been able to keep a press blackout on the situation at first but word finally got out. Perhaps from his mother's friends or relatives or their neighbors. However, it was revealed, the whole country become deeply in interested in the story. Entire news specials and talk shows covered the story and discussed opinions on the matter and what this meant. Several internet chatrooms opened up as well about it. Reactions were mixed. Academics seemed just interested in the idea and what could be learned from it or what it could mean for future human/ghoul relations. Ghoul supporters and Romantics supported it and talked about how nice it was that humans and ghouls could come together and even make a child. But there were those who were disgusted or down right angry over it. Some of these people saw his mom as a traitor to her species or him as a freak that should be disposed of. He eventually avoided news for weeks while it shimmered down to just an interesting news piece and not something front page worthy.

Ken was at first very afraid about how the others in the ward would take it but amazingly they didn't seem upset by it. Sure the other ghouls were curios and maybe asked him about it or to see his single kakugan eye but in the end, they practically let him be to his relief. In the end, to them, he was just another ghoul with a bit different family line than them. Still was embarrassing that everyone now knows him by name.

He also took Shinohara's advice and had stayed out of the touristy area for a couple of months. At least while it was still open to the public. And whenever he did go there, he had to allow Shinohara and other CCG investigators to escort and guard him. It scared him to now be the center of attention when he did go through it though. More people took pictures of him then when they thought he was just a cute ghoul pup and there were a few reporters who tried to ask him questions as he slinked by them. The CCG did pass along a statement from him but refused to force him to give the press an interview and warned that they would arrest and press charges against any protesters who threatened or assaulted him. Didn't stop a couple from trying.

Harima breathed a sigh of relief. "So she's ok. The news didn't report at all on where she was or how she was doing. I guess that was kept classified due to those who were unhappy with what she did." Shinohara nodded at him again. "Yes," he said sadly, "Some people are not at all happy about this situation. But thankfully they seem to be a minority and most of them are not even allowed on CCG property in the first place due to previous transgressions." He then cleared his throat. "I also have a request for you too. I know this may sound heartless but we would like it if you returned the favor so to speak. In return for housing, protecting, and providing for your wife while she is unable to return to the public sector, we request the two of you to work in the CCG outreach program."

"You mean that program where the CCG loans out ghouls to other humans for donations and good p.r.?" Shinohara affirmed his answer. "Correct… if a bit crude description. The outreach program is where the CCG has ghoul volunteers who go out of the ward and work for or aid our partners in the program or campaigning for public support. There are a variety of jobs. We even have a ghoul rock band and an idol group who both have quite a lot of fans. Apparently some of their fans even come in with kakugan contacts to their concerts. We also have a few groups who are trained and ready to aid during a disaster or crisis. During the last quake, our teams saved many trapped people who would have died before rescuers would have even found them. Usually volunteers are paid for their services but the CCG wishes, at least for the most part, to consider taking care of your wife."

Harima thought over it for a minute before he agreed. "I understand. Besides I prefer it this way." Shinohara didn't miss the slight suspicion in his eyes as he said, "I don't like owing others or needing to take charity. Especially from the CCG." Shinohara replied, "Good. I was afraid you'd get upset that we are asking for you to work for us while having your pay docked. As for what jobs you would do… Harima, due to having been rogue, and therefore also having a criminal record, some of these jobs are unavailable. At least until it is decided that you can be utmost trusted with that responsibility and/or freedom. For now, I'd think you'd do well in the construction units. Rinkakus are popular there since you guys can carry a lot of heavy equipment around in those tentacles of yours." Ken couldn't help but laugh at the image of his dad in a hard hat with steel girders or a jackhammer in his kagune's grasp. But this brought their attention to him again.

"And what about Ken?" He noticed Shinohara's face turn sour before he pulled out some sort of pamphlet and some paperwork. "As for Ken. Well he shows great promise. That and some other issues led to them to the CCG chairman himself to request this." He handed them the papers. Ken's eyes went wide when he realized what they were asking for. "We ask that he attend the CCG run academy here in the twenty fifth and train to become a hound."


	7. coin toss

**I really have no idea what to do here. Plus Im not feeling a hundred percent due to some meds I'm on from an oral surgery. So all I could come up with was this halfbaked chapter. That really is nothing special. But its been like two months so I rushed this one out.**

 **I got ideas for this story but I can't really find the time or the proper structure to put it together. Unlike my other story. So sorry that I was only able to put out something like this after such a long wait.**

* * *

"A hound huh?" Kaneki was sitting at a table in Anteiku. Reading the brochure and paperwork that Shinohara had provided for him. He sat with Juuzo as the other boy ate and watched him read over everything. Ken was unsure what to think about the offer. The hounds after all were a combat unit and he wasn't the sort who liked to fight. Simply put the hounds were a unit of ghouls who added the CCG investigators when tracking and fighting rogue ghouls. Their name came from the idea that they were used in way similar to attack dogs. They were also used, with their sense of smell being superior, as bloodhounds to sniff out the hidden rogue ghouls. Though the scent part was difficult as there were laws about this needing a warrant and just the fact that said scents could easily get caught up in the background smells of the city.

Ken wondered why they wanted him to do this job in particular. Perhaps it was that rumor that he had heard about half ghouls being strong. But he didn't feel that strong. He began to worry if he could really do this. After all it was a dangerous job. He could die. Was he really ready for this?

He suddenly felt something prick his arm that brought him back out of his morbid thoughts. Ken turned to see Juuzo, with a quinque needle starting to sew red thread into his arm. "What are you doing," he asked as he tried to pull his arm away but Juuzo held onto it. "I'm bored," the other boy whined matter of factually. "And where did you get a quinque needle anyway?" Ken now asked. Juuzo grinned at him and told him, "I got it from one of the suture kits for ghouls that they have in the training center." Ken could only answer with an, "Oh."

They both fell into silence after that till Juuzo suddenly announced, "You should do it Ken." Ken replied, "You mean the hound program?" His human friend nodded. "I think you'd be great at it. Not to mention you could partner up with me and we could be the best evil ghoul killing duo to ever exist." Ken couldn't help but laugh at that. This boy just had a way to make anything, even heavy or dark issues, seem so simple and light. In a way he balanced out ken's shy and worried personality. Though he did say, "We don't have to kill them. Just capture them before they can hurt anyone."

"It's done!" Juuzo happily exclaimed and Ken looked down to see a red centipede on his arm. "Neat," he then heard from behind him. Both of the boys at the table turned to see Hide now coming over after ordering his coffee. Hide had become the optimist in their group. The bright spot that made Ken feel a bit more human and less of a human eating beast. He sat down next to Ken; looking over the centipede of red thread in his arm. "Man that looks cool," he said. Juuzo jumped up and excitedly asked if he would want one too. But Hide shook his head. "Nah. Looks painful. Not to mention my parents would kill me if they saw me with something like that." Ken couldn't help but laugh when Juuzo deflated at his refusal. "So what were you guys talking about?"

Juuzo was the one to answer. "Ken got scouted by Shinohara to join the hounds," he loudly shouted. After apologizing to the other patrons for the loud outburst, Kaneki explained, "You heard about my mom right? Well the CCG wants me to join the hounds training program and then work as one in return for the protection and costs of living for her they have been covering since the arrest and relocation." Hide nodded his understanding. Though he looked bothered by it. "I can't say I like too much. Feels like your being blackmailed into it."

Juuzo though just laughed this off. "Who cares. I think Ken would be great at it." Hide gave Ken a look over before saying, "Maybe." Ken sighed. "I just don't know. I mean it would fix everything if I do join but can I really do it? I mean I don't really like fighting." Juuzo was the one who came up with an answer. He pulled out a five-yen coin and simply said, "Why don't we flip a coin." Before Ken could object he had already thrown it. The three boys watched as it landed and decided Ken's future right there.

* * *

"Welcome to your first day of training, ya little brats," the older ghoul said to the group of young ghouls who stood before him. Ken was one of these new recruits and he was already regretting letting himself be talked into this by a coin toss. "The names Nishiki," the older boy said, "And I'll be your leader here." He had a grin that didn't look too friendly as he said, "I hope that we all get along."


	8. An update finally

Ken cursed angrily as he jumped over yet another alley. _'I'm late. I'm late! Yomo is going to be so fucking angry,'_ he fretted. Ken was late to his afternoon shift at Anteiku and was rushing to get there before he was too late. He hoped it wouldn't be that big a deal. He didn't oversleep everyday after all.

The young boy had grown much over the few years since he'd come to the twenty fifth ward. While still a bit reserved he was much more confident than before. Partially due to just growing up in a place where he didn't have to hide his species and partially due to being in the throes of puberty. He had plenty of friends and close acquaintances now as well. Everyone from Anteiku, Hinami, his teacher Ryouko Fueguchi, Doctor Fueguchi, a few neighbors he'd gotten close with, Hide who was now training to be a ghoul handler in the ward, Juuzo, and Shinohara. Of course he had already made a few enemies as well. Especially in the last couple years.

Though he was usually a good natured kid and not confrontational normally, being a teenager still meant that his temper would flare occasionally. This emotional instability combined with having super strength, a taste for flesh, and a kagune had of course led to him being of some concern for the CCG ghoul handlers and ruffled more than a few feathers among human and ghouls who Ken had dealt with. Even his father had been forced to use corporal punishment a few times on him to get him calm down. Thankfully these outbursts were rare and usually came from others antagonizing the boy first. Though he was still being watched a little more carefully by the CCG until he calmed downed and matured a bit.

Finally, Ken reached the area of the ward where tourists were allowed. Ghouls were not allowed to jump over the roofs here so as not to spook the humans. So he jumped down and landed in one of the designated landing zones. He laughed a bit when he spooked one of the visitors during his landing. He nodded a greeting to her before rushing towards the coffee district.

When he reached the front of Anteiku however, he saw the last thing he wanted to see now. Two new additions to the ward were both sitting at one of the tables near the window. Each drinking a cup of black coffee. Ken sighed resigningly before opening the door. "Sorry I'm late. I lost track of time," he said while heading towards the back. "It's ok," he heard Irimi say. "Just hurry up and get changed. We're busy so we need all hands on deck." So Ken went into the changing room and put on his uniform before coming out and getting to work.

Probably knowing about his… issues with some of the customers, Yomo told him to take care of the customers on the other side of the café from them. For the next couple of hours Ken was hard at work taking care of the people eating in or taking their coffee to go. It actually became so crowded that he was forced to use his rinkaku as extra arms much to the enjoyment of the visitors. Yomo had made special carriers for the cups so that could fit on his kagune so that he could carry more out to the café in one go. To be honest, it made Ken feel a bit embarrassed and felt funny with the way it fit around the tips of his kagune but it made work easier and the customers seemed to like it.

Of course hearing giggling from across the store and someone calling him a pack mule did sour his mood a bit. The cup he was holding in his hands when he heard that insult shattering into little pieces. Eventually though things were calming down a bit. And one of the annoyances left. To where she went, he didn't care. But her being gone meant he could relax a bit. But his relief was short lived.

Ken had just picked up several dishes and was heading back to the kitchen sink; his kagune not out as the café traffic had thinned out some. But as he walked, someone put their foot out in front of him. Causing Ken to fall flat on his face on break several of the dishes he was carrying. While he did hear a few people gasp ask if he was ok, the loudest voice was a snarky one that teased him, "What's the matter, ya one eyed bastard? Tripping over nothing like a klutz." Ken growled in anger before jumping up to meet the one who had done this.

The younger boy was dressed in a rather punkish outfit that fit with the way he had stylized his hair. His face was displaying a large cocky grin while his body was postured in an aggressive way. "Ayato," Ken coldly shot back, "What the hell is your problem?" Ayato took another step, getting right into Ken's personal space, "Nothing," he snarked. Ken narrowed his eyes and gripped his fists. Making a few of the customers nervous. But any further arguing was stopped when the light on both of their collars turned yellow and small alarm began to beep.

Two more figures approached the two angry young men. These two were both older then both Ayato and Ken but still young. One was a platinum blonde woman while the other was a somewhat goofy looking young man. And both of them were wearing the uniform of the CCG academy that trained future ghoul investigators. The girl also held in her hand a small remote with her hand resting on a large button on it. And she made certain that both of them saw it. "Oi," she shouted to get their attention, "Break it up before someone gets hurt. Both of you should already know that fighting in the tourism sector is forbidden. If you keep it up, then I'll be forced to activate the suppressants in your collar and you can spend a week in the detention center." 

Ken, still fuming, pointed at Ayato and complained, "But he started it." But this only got him a rather painful strike on the top of his head from Yomo; who had come up from behind him. "Don't talk back to the CCG," he told Kaneki. Ken looked away with a huff while Ayato smirked at this whole scene. That is until Yomo locked eyes with him and told him, "We'll talk about this tonight. Back home." Instantly his smile dropped. Yomo also ordered Ayato to clean up the broken tableware.

Ken took this chance to sneak away and slinked over to the counter where he took a seat. He looked up when someone placed a fresh cup of coffee in front of him. Irimi smiled at him. "Thanks," Ken told her before taking a nice long sip. Letting the warmth of the coffee seep into his very being. Irimi started on her next order while telling Ken, "Cheer up. I'm sure things will smooth out between you and the Kirishimas eventually."

But Ken just smirked sardonically at her. "Yeah fat chance that'll happen. I'd rather go play whack a mole with Arima then befriend those two jackasses." Irimi laughed at this remark before taking another finished product to the waiting customer. Ken took another sip of his coffee while he thought over the two ukaku siblings.

From what he heard they had been captured while on the run for a few years after their father had been killed by the CCG. Supposedly by the rather infamous investigator and ghoul hater, Mado. He knew that they had had a tough time before arriving in the ward. Even having to spend some time in the twenty third ward prison for ghouls for a few months. Also for some reason, Yomo had adopted the two of them rather than letting them live in the rooms for orphans in the residential sector.

But understanding how hard their life had been didn't make him any less upset at the two brats. Especially since he had tried to be nice to them at first, only for them to literally slap away his outstretched hand of friendship and just be all around irritating people. They had worn out all of Ken's pity for them long ago. Ken sighed as he sipped his coffee again. ' _at least I can work some of this stress off later tonight,'_ Ken thought. Already looking forward to this evening's training.

X

Crack!

Ken relished the feel as he struck at the dummy again and again. He really needed to blow of some steam after all. So he kept striking at it again and again till the buzzer went off and he had to get out of the way of the next trainee. So he took a break and grabbed his bottle of chilled blood.

As he was drinking, someone approached him. "Something wrong Ken. You were beating that thing like it insulted your mother." Ken turned to reply to Nishiki while he cleaning off his sweat with his workout towel. "Nothing to major sempai," he replied, "Just Ayato was being an ass again earlier this morning. Probably still a bit miffed from that is all." Nishiki sighed at the mention of one of the Kirishima siblings. "That brat. He and his sister need to just calm down already and stop all this emo shit over their old man. I hear that they have become a real menace in the Ukaku dormitories; picking fights with almost daily there."

But further discussion was ceased when a powerful voice called, "Kaneki!" Both turned to see Matasaka Kamishiro, the head trainer here and a senior member of the council, standing mightily before them. The man looked over Ken with a thoughtful before stating, "Ken. Come spar with me. Seems like you have some energy to burn." Ken went wide eyed at this while Nishiki snickered at him. "Good luck," was all the older ghoul said before he turned to go off and do something else.

Ken sighed heavily before walking towards what he knew would be a painful experience. There was no way he, with only a few years of training and a not yet fully developed body would be able to defeat the master of this dojo. A master, who for some reason had singled out Kaneki for special training and instruction. Ken didn't know if this was his way of showing favoritism or he just really liked beating up the young half-ghoul under the guise of educating him. At least he did learn from each of these beatings.

"Ken! Ken! Up here! Ken!" Ken looked up to where the audience stands were filled with both ghouls and humans. And among them stood Suzuya leaning over the edge while waving excitedly at Ken. "Go get him!" the boy excitedly yelled. "Kick his ass!" Ken just laughed nervously at this while waving at his friend. He thought he saw Hide as well. Or at least someone who looked a lot like him with his nose in a textbook a few rows back.

Finally, he stepped into the ring where Kamishiro waited. He took his stance and got ready. The ref swung his hand down and shouted, "Begin!" and Ken surged forward at the man who didn't move as Ken approached.

X

"That looked painful," Hide observed. Both he and Suzuya had watched the match. All three minutes of it. Ken just groaned a reply; lying on a bench with his face covered by a cool towel. "I think you did pretty well," Juuzo chirped appreciatorily. "You just should have thoomed instead of going zupaan at that one point. Right?" Ken peaked out from under his towel with a confused look and simply said, "I have no idea what you just said." But this just caused Juuzo to giggle at him.

Ken sat up and turned to Hide instead. "So how is the studying going on?" What Ken was asking about was Hide's studies for the CCG academy program for ghoul handlers. These were CCG members who took care of the tamed ghouls and the twenty fifth ward. Hide had dreamed of being one ever since Ken had known him.

Hide grinned at him and pulled out his bag. "It's been going great," he said as he began to searched around in it. "Though I'm confused about a couple things on what I'm currently reading. Would you mind taking a look at it." He finally found the book he was looking for and began to pull it out. But as he was pulling it out, another smaller book fell out of his bag. A small manga.

"What's this?" Ken asked as he reached for it. Hide got flustered and tried to stop him but Ken was too fast. And immediately grinned as he read the title. "Unbearable Heat?" he asked Hide. Hide grabbed the book from his friend with a deep blush. "Look I didn't know it was that kind of book when I bought it," he defended. "Really?" Suzuya asked. "I mean it has a naked male and female ghoul embracing each other right on the cover. I would have thought that would have clued you off right there." This only caused Hide to go redder and Ken to now laugh at his friend's distress.

He yanked the book from Hide again and flipped through it while Juuzo held Hide back. It was pretty much how Ken expected it to be. A simple doujin that focused on the pop culture depiction that ghouls went through an animalistic heat of some sort. "I'll just assume that you bought this for… research on ghoul mating right?" Hide nodded vigorously in reply.

"Then you should know that it got a few things wrong then."

"Like what?" Suzuya asked now curious himself. Ken handed the book back and said, "Well for one, it's usually the girls who fight over mates during mating season. Not the guys." Both of the humans looked at him a bit shocked. "You're kidding?" Hide snapped. Ken simply stood up and headed towards the locker rooms. "Perhaps," he answered Hide. "Or maybe every spring, mom had to defend her claim on dad with a spray bottle filled with fruit juice and having great aim."

And with that he shut the door, changed back into casual clothes, and went back home.


	9. Mission

**Not much to say here. Basically I'm still having problem finding real inspiration to get working on this fic. I'm still trying to figure that out.**

 **But I do need to say. I talked with another about this series. I'll try to give news about this if something new comes up.**

* * *

Ken looked out at the foreboding sky as they drove. It looked like rainstorm was about the hit. It smelled like a big one as well. He sighed before turning back to the others in the car. A mix of different older ghouls then him. He saw Irima sitting on a bench on the opposite side of the carriage. She smiled at him and waved. He waved back. But it didn't help as much as he hoped it would. Ken was feeling really nervous.

It was his first real mission after all. He had so far only been on small patrols around wards with no real major presence of dangerous ghouls. Now though, he was assigned to a real threat. He felt the truck stop with a small lurch. Ken took a deep breath before the back-door opens and all of them jumped out of the back of the truck.

The place they had stopped at was a somewhat run down. Shinohara had informed him beforehand that this was a rather poorer section of the city. Most of the people who lived here were good people but made up mostly of manual labor jobs or careers that didn't require too much specialization or knowledge. But it was peaceful for the most part. Still ghouls were a decent problem here. Ken perked up when he heard Shinohara call them all over to him.

Ken came over to where the group of people and ghouls was standing around the man. Once they had all assembled, Shinohara passed them each a picture of a young boy and to the ghouls he handed them a small item in an evidence bag. The ghouls took out the small item and began to take in the scents of the owner of said item while their investigators studied the photo to get a good idea of what the kid looked like.

"A few hours ago, this child disappeared from around here. We have been called in to give aid to the rescue effort. There is also a decent chance of a rogue ghoul being involved in the kidnapping. If this is true, then you have my go ahead to do whatever is necessary to protect the boy and any other civilians in the area and to place the rogue in our custody. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir," they all cried in unison. Shinohara nodded at them with a smile. "Dismissed then," he told them. The human investigators all turned to their cars to go the checkpoint to look around and ask around the area for sightings while the ghouls took off to immediately begin searching. They ran at full speed into alleyways or jump onto the sides and roofs of buildings to check out the whole area or see if they smelled something coming from the rooms. Ken himself gave one last look at who he believed were the parents of the boy; crying as they were consoled by a nearby police officer.

He then turned around and jumped over a fence to begin searching. For a couple hours, he scoured the place. Jumping from building to building, checking the local alleyways, and checking up on what the other searchers had found. So far nothing substantial. All of the whiffs of his scent they caught were days old and in places like the local mall or restaurants that he would have visited with his parents. But finally, he got a break. Talking to another twenty-fifth ward ghoul who worked at a local construction site, Ken was informed by him of a place that smelled heavily of ghoul. They had reported it a day or two ago but the issue hadn't been investigated properly yet.

Ken soon arrived at the area and had to agree with the older man. The place had the smell of ghoul permeated the area. The strong scent meaning that the ghoul probably lived close by. Ken was thankful that he seemed dumb enough not to realize he needed to hide his scent. He pulled out his communicator and told Shinohara this. "Good work Ken," he assured him. "Keep looking for the kid there. We'll be there once we gather the rest of the investigators." Ken then began to search the place. He checked around the block and asked a couple passersby about the locals and anyone who seemed suspicious to them.

He eventually was told about a rather gruff person from one of the buildings that seemed to keep to themselves. Ken went to check out that building. He decided, due to the lack of time, to check every room from the outside. He didn't have enough clearance by himself but he felt that he couldn't wait for Shinohara to come. He went around the building; scaling the walls to get to the higher floors. He listened through the windows and sniffed the air. He found a couple people engaged in adult activities and a few drug deals but not what he was looking for. He was about to give up when he got to the top floor and came to one of the last rooms. It reeked of ghoul and he could hear sniffling.

Ken broke in and found the boy in a cage. The boy looked at the new arrival in fear but the older boy came over to him with his hands in the air to show him he meant no harm. "Hey, kid. Don't worry. I'm here to help you. I'm one of the good guys okay." He pointed to the collar on his neck hoping that he would recognize it and calm down. Once he was sure the kid was okay, he pulled out his communicator and told Shinohara, "This is Ken. I've found the kid in apartment nearby the scent. He's alive but a bit shaken up." Ken heard the man sigh on the other end of the line. "Good work. Get the kid out of there. We'll try to encircle the area and then track the perpetrator down."

"Ok, I'll bring him to the closest CCG car." Ken then turned to the boy and ripped open the cage. "Come on," he called to the boy. But before he could take Ken's hand though, another figure entered the room. Spotting Ken, he growled out, "Damn it. A dirty CCG dog." He jumped at Ken but Ken used his training to toss him away. He quickly turned to the kid and told him to run. But the enemy ghoul used that distraction to slug Ken. Ken yelped as he fell to the ground. The other ghoul pulled out his kagune and tried to stab Ken but Ken was able to activate his own in time to block it. Ken lashed out with his but the other ghoul dodged it. Ken used this chance to get up and grabbed the kid and jump out the window. Ken held the kid close to his chest as he landed to prevent injury. Ken got ready to run as he didn't want to protect the kid and fight at the same time.

But before he could get out of there, the other ghoul jumped down and slashed his back. Ken collapsed and dropped the boy. The other ghoul was about to strike him down before he could heal but Ken was saved when another figure joined the fight. Juuzo appeared and launched several small quinque blades at the ghoul. As he roared in pain, Ken jumped up and kicked the man's head off. "Ten points!" Suuzya yelled out as Ken landed in a crouch.

"Mission successful," Juuzo giggled.

* * *

"There's a sensor in your collar that alerts us when you activate your kagune," Shinohara had told him when they came back to the starting point. "When I got alerted I sent Juuzo to take care of you immediately." Ken grinned at him and thanked the man.

"We'll leave the rest to the cleanup crew while we return home." Shinohara put a hand on Ken's shoulder. "You did good Ken. You saved that boys life." Ken felt happy at that. Ken got up and started heading to back to the transport when someone called for him. He turned to see the boy's father approached him. The man bowed down deeply to the surprised half ghoul. "Thank You so much!" the man shouted. Causing Ken jump a bit. "You're welcome," he responded. The man stood back up and smiled at him. "Here take this." The man gave Ken a bag of high quality coffee beans. He was surprised that they would give him this. Especially since they probably couldn't afford it. But before Ken could say anything the man had already ran off to his family. Ken looked at the bag one last time before sighing.

"Next stop. Anteiku."

* * *

 **Sorry I'm too tired to really put anything up here. Took me a couple weeks to work this out.**


End file.
